The debate over who is better, Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, will reach new heights now that the NHL Central Scouting final rankings had Seguin first and Hall second. For the past few months many posters, fans, bloggers and members of the media have said Hall was the best, however, I’ve been a believer that the Oilers, or whoever picks first should take Seguin. I’m not sold he is a better player, but he plays the more influential position; centre.

For the past few months I’ve spoken with a variety of scouts who have seen both play 30+ times, and out of the 27 scouts I asked 13 liked Hall while 14 preferred Seguin. But everyone one of them had them ranked first or second. Not much separates these two, and that is why I’ve said Seguin should be the pick.

Centres have historically been better and normally they influence the game more. Of the current top 50 scorers of all time, five are defencemen, 15 wingers and 30 are centres. Eight of the top-ten scorers of all-time played the middle. If Hall was a clear number one, like Patrick Kane in 2007, then of course he should go first, but he isn’t and that’s why taking Seguin first overall makes more sense.

The Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup, and up until Henrik Sedin, Trevor Linden was the best centre they’ve ever had. The Flames traded their last great centre, Joe Nieuwendyk, to Dallas in exchange for Jarome Iginla. Iginla has been good for the Flames, but only once in 13 years did his team win a playoff round. And all we ever hear is how he needs a centreman.

One centreman won’t change everything for your team, but it is clear a franchise has a better chance with an elite centre than an elite winger. Of course you need a goalie and solid defence, but a centreman normally has more of an influence on a winger’s game than the winger has on the guy taking the draws.

Fifteen centremen, 14 goalies, nine D-men, four right wingers, and two left wingers make up the list.

Look at the Stanley Cup champions and strength down the middle seems more important than strength on the wings. No team in recent memory had more dominant strength on the wings than down the middle. Goalies and centremen are the most dominant positions, but drafting a goalie in the first round is very rare.

Since 1969, 947 players have been drafted in the first round. Only 54 of them have been goalies, which is a measly 5.7%. Active goalies taken in the first round include Martin Brodeur (22nd), Roberto Luongo (4th), Marc-Andre Fleury (1st), Cam Ward (25th), Kari Lehtonen (2nd), Pascal Leclaire (8th), Rick Dipietro (1st), Devan Dubnyk (14th), Carey Price (5th), Simeon Varlamov (23rd) and Tukka Rask (21st). The first four are stars, but the rest are still developing and some are already in their second organization.

Only six goalies chosen in the first round have won the Stanley Cup: Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr, Martin Brodeur, Cam Ward, Marc-Andre Fleury and Michel Larocque. Goalies have become the most important position in hockey, but their development takes longer, thus many top flight goalies are taken later on.

It seems that Stanley Cup winners are blessed with either dominant guys down the middle or great defence. Rarely are teams led to the Cup by a dominating winger looking at the recent champions.

Crosby/Malkin/Staal in Pittsburgh

Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Draper in Detroit.

The Ducks won with great goaltending and two hall of fame blueliners.

Staal/Brind’Amour/Weight in Carolina.

Lecavalier and Richards in Tampa.

The Devils won with Stevens and Brodeur with three shutouts in the finals.

Yzerman/Federov/Lidstrom led the Wings.

Sakic/Forsberg/Roy was the backbone of the Avs.

Modano/Nieuwendyk/Belfour/Zubov led the Stars.

The last winger you could argue that led his team to victory from was Claude Lemieux, and he won’t make the Hall of Fame. He was great in the playoffs, but he was known more for scoring clutch goals than dominating a series.

I’m not saying it is a lock that Seguin will be more of an impact player in the NHL than Hall, but considering they are ranked so close I would go with the centre, based on past history and the fact Seguin’s 2nd year in junior was better than Hall’s second season in Windsor.

ICE WOMEN OF THE WEEK

The Phoenix Coyotes clinched home ice in the first round yesterday so say hello to Kristen. She is a veteran member of The Pack Entertainment Squad. This blonde haired, blue eyed beauty is a broadcast Journalism Student at Arizona State University, her favorite food is Mac & Cheese, her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, she loves watching movies and she never shies away from a night of karaoke. Sounds like a perfect date; cook her some KD, hit a karaoke bar and then rent a movie. Giddy Up!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Would you trade Jarome Iginla for the 2nd pick if you were Darryl Sutter? Or does loyalty to a player mean something to you.

Will Darryl Sutter remain as GM, will Brent remain as coach? The off-season in Alberta will be fun to watch, but both teams will be revamping complete opposite areas of their team.

Right now, who do you think will be a better team next year, the Flames or the Oilers?

The schedule maker got it right. The Rangers and Flyers finish the season with a home and home series. Those games are essentially playoff games.

I think Mike Gillis’ patience will cost his a team a lengthy playoff run. With Aaron Rome, Shane O’Brien or Andrew Alberts as a third pairing they are in trouble. And all three might have to play because Sami “injury-waiting-to-happen” Salo is always a play away from the pressbox.

Ted Leonsis is one of the few owners in sports who talks to the fans. His blog his pretty insightful and entertaining. www.tedstake.com Of course he is pro-Capitals, but Capital fans love interacting with him. He responds to their complaints and that’s what the fans want. The Oilers should pay attention.

I have no idea what the criteria is for the Messier award, but it’s supposed to go to “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season." The five finalists are Nicklas Lidstrom, Jamie Langenbrunner, Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Miller and Mike Richards. I’m a huge Messier fan, but this award is hard to handout, because unless you are in the room no one really knows how good of a leader a player is. Richards has been getting ripped all year for being a bad leader, yet he makes the final five. I don’t get it.

UPDATE

If you think things are at an all time low in Edmonton, in 30th place and missing the playoffs for the fourth season in a row, you might want to read this article by Kent Wilson of FlamesNation. In addition to being an absolutely scathing review of the Sutter Era in Calgary it is probably the best article written on the Flames that I have read anywhere.

Tough times in Alberta for hockey fans.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

I really don't think too hard anymore over this Hall/Seguin scenario. There is still a chance we have no choice, so I'm not going to get my hopes up for one of them and then see those hopes crushed. I'll be fine with either.

I think Calgary should tell Daryl to take over the coaching duties. He built this team, he has went through 4 coaches in 5 years. Maybe he gets one last chance.

Too tough to pick who will be better next year, I say the Flames will be but there is nothing saying they won't blow up the team and rebuild either.

Also interesting story about that slovenian coach making his backup drive drunk, the guy then crashed and 6 of the players beat the crap out of the coach.

Great article, back to Seguin and Hall. The talk between my buddies and I have been who is the best player, and my argument has always been who is best for the Oilers. This is clearly more important, and I feel that the centre is maybe our most needed position at the moment. Your article just gives me more breadth to my argument. Cheers!

Calgary could try to move Iginla for the 2nd pick all they want. Any GM worth their salt will take the 18 year old phenom with 7 years of service before UFA status over an Winger on the wrong side of 30 with 1 year left on a 7 million dollar deal.

I don't care who the Oilers pick as long as neither of them turn into a Patrick Stefan or Alexander Daigle.

*crosses fingers*

Did you see where Patrik Stefan played in his draft year? He played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL where he scored 35 points in 33 games. Why any team looked at his competition and his performance and said "This guy is the Number 1 pick overall." is beyond me. They could have taken a Sedin, but instead decided to do Burkie a favour.

"Since 1969, 947 players have been drafted in the first round. Only 54 of them have been goalies, which is a measly 5.7%. Active goalies taken in the first round include Martin Brodeur (22nd), Roberto Luongo (4th), Marc-Andre Fleury (1st), Cam Ward (25th), Kari Lehtonen (2nd), Pascal Leclaire (8th), Rick Dipietro (1st), Devan Dubnyk (14th), Carey Price (5th), Simeon Varlamov (23rd) and Tukka Rask (21st). The first four are stars, but the rest are still developing and some are already in their second organization.

Only four goalies chosen in the first round have won the Stanley Cup: Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr, Martin Brodeur and Michel Larocque. Goalies have become the most important position in hockey, but their development takes longer, thus many top flight goalies are taken later on."
- JG

Make that five: Fleury's won a cup too (just sayin'. Your point is still valid).

My only problem with Seguin over Hall is we have Gagner and Horcoff as our centers. Not saying this is ideal but Gagner clearly needs top 2 time and Horcoff makes $5.5 mill cap hit and is unmoveable. Unless you commit to sticking him 3rd line someone will have to be bumped to fit in Seguin. Alternatively we have Penner on LW.....that is all. Wouldn't hurt to have 2 LW that can play would it?

Also Hall went 3-3-6 +7 in the playoff series while Seguin went 0-0-0 -6. I realize Windsor is 10 times better than Plymouth but that is an ugly showing.

You cant count on Horc to be a top two centre for the next 5 years (his contract) when he couldnt hold the position down this year. It doesnt matter how much he makes. Eberle is a winger, arent we expecting him to play?

If the team is paying him 5.5 to play the 3rd line then there isnt much they can do about, but salary cant determine position.

Gregor or anyone with an opinion, if we pick Seguin does he get sent back to JR.? He will only be 18 at the start of the season and if we are in a full rebuild do they give him some time to develop, Stauffer was asked this and said NO he will stay with the big club, I don't know if you keep him he has to stay (no ahl for him).

I agree we can use a high end center, however, Seguin will most likely return to junior next year, while Hall would probably make the team. I think manangement and fans want to see this pick play in the NHL next season.

"Since 1969, 947 players have been drafted in the first round. Only 54 of them have been goalies, which is a measly 5.7%. Active goalies taken in the first round include Martin Brodeur (22nd), Roberto Luongo (4th), Marc-Andre Fleury (1st), Cam Ward (25th), Kari Lehtonen (2nd), Pascal Leclaire (8th), Rick Dipietro (1st), Devan Dubnyk (14th), Carey Price (5th), Simeon Varlamov (23rd) and Tukka Rask (21st). The first four are stars, but the rest are still developing and some are already in their second organization.

Only four goalies chosen in the first round have won the Stanley Cup: Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr, Martin Brodeur and Michel Larocque. Goalies have become the most important position in hockey, but their development takes longer, thus many top flight goalies are taken later on."
- JG

Make that five: Fleury's won a cup too (just sayin'. Your point is still valid).

I believe Cam Ward had some success in the finals at one point too... but it is a vague memory for me now that I prefer not to re-live...

"Since 1969, 947 players have been drafted in the first round. Only 54 of them have been goalies, which is a measly 5.7%. Active goalies taken in the first round include Martin Brodeur (22nd), Roberto Luongo (4th), Marc-Andre Fleury (1st), Cam Ward (25th), Kari Lehtonen (2nd), Pascal Leclaire (8th), Rick Dipietro (1st), Devan Dubnyk (14th), Carey Price (5th), Simeon Varlamov (23rd) and Tukka Rask (21st). The first four are stars, but the rest are still developing and some are already in their second organization.

Only four goalies chosen in the first round have won the Stanley Cup: Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr, Martin Brodeur and Michel Larocque. Goalies have become the most important position in hockey, but their development takes longer, thus many top flight goalies are taken later on."
- JG

Make that five: Fleury's won a cup too (just sayin'. Your point is still valid).

Actually it should read six, not four...I meant to include Fleury and Ward from the previous paragraph but, in my infinite wisdom I somehow deleted that part and forgot to add them in the next paragraph. My bad. Thanks.

I agree we can use a high end center, however, Seguin will most likely return to junior next year, while Hall would probably make the team. I think manangement and fans want to see this pick play in the NHL next season.

I think management can use Eberle to soften the blow of sending Seguin to the minors. Besides one more year in the tank brings us another high draft pick to add to our arsenal. Bring on the 'No Hockey Heaven in 2011, Leads to Champion Team in 2013' campaign.

I agree we can use a high end center, however, Seguin will most likely return to junior next year, while Hall would probably make the team. I think manangement and fans want to see this pick play in the NHL next season.

You don't pick Hall just because he might play here next year. And why do think Seguin will go to junior.

Compare him to Matt Duchene. They are very similar and Duchene sure doesn't look like he needed another year in junior. Not sure why you think Seguin is likely to go to junior.

I remember going through the pre-season rankings this year and the Oilers getting ranked higher than the Flames on a couple occasions. That obviously didn't work out, but injury is a huge factor.

Realistically, we haven't lost that much talent for the rebuild (yet). Penner, Brule, Smid and Gagner have made huge strides in their games, while Bourque and Giordano are the only Flames that come to mind. J Bo is a dud, but so is Horcoff. We've hopefully got a couple of stellar youngsters coming in.

I think the Oil can take the season series if they stay healthy.

Sutter has to be gone as a GM. He's spent the last 5 years trading the future away for band-aid fixes and the team is now in the dumps....

You don't pick Hall just because he might play here next year. And why do think Seguin will go to junior.

Compare him to Matt Duchene. They are very similar and Duchene sure doesn't look like he needed another year in junior. Not sure why you think Seguin is likely to go to junior.

It's just from the articles I have read. From what I recall, he isn't as strong and his body isn't as mature. Hall would be a good choice since it sounds like he is NHL ready, he is a goal scorer, strong skater, etc.

I'm not saying Hall is the choice, just that Oiler Nation needs a spark next year. If Seguin can make the team next year, great, if not, they may lean towards Hall.

I'm a Scientist! makes a good point in regards to Eberle, he can be our spark next year, with all our returning injured players it may turn out OK.

Did you see where Patrik Stefan played in his draft year? He played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL where he scored 35 points in 33 games. Why any team looked at his competition and his performance and said "This guy is the Number 1 pick overall." is beyond me. They could have taken a Sedin, but instead decided to do Burkie a favour.

They more than likely couldn't have taken a Sedin though. They were going to do everything in their power to play together, including skipping the draft entirely and holding out for free agency where a team could sign them both.
And while Stefan is easily the worst first overall pick ever, in my mind, have you seen the rest of his draft class? Just horrible.
Who were they supposed to take? Pavel Brendl? Kriss Beech? Tim Connolly? Connolly would have been okay in the long run, but even still he would have been looked at as a bust of a first overall pick.

I have no idea why I'm defending Patrik Stefan, but I think we should cut Atlanta a little slack. Although, The Long Beach Ice Dogs? How did they even find him?????

Yeah, that is the worst draft class in recent history I'm sure. I dont know what the deal really was with the Sedins. Havlat went 26th in that draft. If Atlanta could have a do-over and still not take a Sedin my guess is they'd go with Havlat, even with the injuries.

Hell Comrie is closing in on 400 points and he didn't go until the third round.
I also wonder if Zetterberg would be as good as he is now if it weren't for the mind blowing luck/incredibly development program that Wings have.

I think everyone needs to forget about Patrik Stefan forever since his draft class is such a weird black hole. I know we Oiler fans love to be the most pessimistic people in the room, but now is not the time!

I've been talking with my flame fan friends about trading Iggy for Boston/Toronto's pick for almost a month now and they are completely torn about it. I figure if they could trade Iginla and get Seguin/Hall + say a wheeler type player they should get on with it. At this point in time they aren't getting any better and the chances that they pick up a stellar player in this draft is near the needle in a haystack comparison.

As for Hall vs. Seguin. We just witnessed Seguin cripple up when faced against a solid checking match up. That tells me he may have a harder time becoming accustom to how things work in the NHL with the best of the best.

Hall has showed up for every big game this year and has a memorial cup on his resume as well. This kid is a born winner and has the drive, heart and compete level that the Oilers are missing.

If we do end up retaining the 1st overall pick it would be a travesty not to take Hall.

1) "Travesty" if the Oilers take the guy ranked 1st overall by ISS and NHL Central scouting? At worst I'm sure the word "Travesty" wont be used if the Oilers take Seguin.

2)Iginla for Seguin/Hall + ANYTHING will NEVER happen. Iginla straight up for Hall/Seguin isnt enough for Boston. Maybe Iginla + Bourque for Seguin/Hall + Ryder is possible. Maybe. If the Bruins management group drinks a lot of bleach before the draft I could see that happening.

So what happens if Matt Duchene and his Avalanche team don't make the playoffs next year and he takes a minor step back? Does he get the Sam Gagner treatment? Does he the question about staying another year in junior?

I really feel that all high end picks should get a chance to prove their wares at the WJHC. I think its a pretty pivotal step for any young player going forward.

I don't understand why people feel to dismiss Hall as making a transformation from winger to center like Mark Messier did. I wouldn't do it right away, but give him 4 or 5 years in the league, once he get accustomed to the pro game, and if the need for a center is still there, I'm sure the possibility of a transformation is there.

As for Hall vs. Seguin. We just witnessed Seguin cripple up when faced against a solid checking match up. That tells me he may have a harder time becoming accustom to how things work in the NHL with the best of the best.

All we witnessed was a one star player team get crushed by a multi-star player team. Seguin had a 20 year old shadow the whole time. Hall is no doubt a worthy one or two, but the team he played on has to be taken into account. With so many good players, it was impossible to win by keying on a single player.

why is everyone being so hard on Calgary? It's not like their top goalie,winger and d man where out for most of the year,they have a bright future ahead of them,I say keep Daryl,Brent and the rest of the Sutters in charge,they have done a great job so far!!!

I wouldn't mind seeing the Oilers tank one more season to get a high pick. But with all of the injured guys coming back and looking to get out of the crapper I don't see it.

Next year could be the year the Oilers pull their heads out of their asses or continue to turn up the suck. Either way we go Hall or Seguin I hope they don't turn into like someone said a Stefan or Daigle. One thing that could be a good thing or a bad thing is Hall`s willingness to go headfirst into the play trying to score. I know it shows guts but in a conference with guys like Torres, Brown and Clutterbuck, Hall could very well be knocked into Lindrosdom.